My Way or the Highway

Mark 8:34

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

Have you ever met someone who always has to have his or her way? There is really no room for relationship because the person doesn’t care about the needs of the other. When this person does not get their way they tell you to hit the highway or like Martin Lawrence used to tell his friends when they had gotten on his nerves or in his way, “Get to stepping!”

Jesus is the opposite…he invites us to a higher way but we must:

1. Deny yourself daily, in order to follow him. The reason we have to deny ourselves is because our thoughts are not his thoughts, neither are our ways his ways. (Isaiah 55:8) Just because something is permissible doesn’t mean that it is beneficial for our Spiritual growth. Sometimes, you have to say “no” to good things so that you can accomplish great things.
2. Take up your cross. The cross is our burden of responsibility that is a Joy to carry. It’s what we’ve been called to do. Everyday we must carry something for Jesus. Only what you do for Christ will last.
3. Follow Jesus. To follow Jesus means to emulate his lifestyle and to ultimately die for what you believe. We are all destined to die but only a few die with purpose living for Jesus.

Dear God,

Lead me to a higher way of living by denying anything that would drag me down. Help me to die to self that I might live for you.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

What Did You Do with It?

Mark 4:14-20

God gives me the opportunity to sow his word in his people every week. It is an opportunity that I don't take for granted. I fast, pray, study, write in order that the people might hear a word from The Lord. Preaching is like sowing seed in people just as the farmer sows seed into the soil. God's Word is a seed that is supposed to produce a harvest in the hearer. But oftentimes when I look out at the people and some are missing, some are disobedient, some are fruitful, it makes me wonder what are they doing with this seed that I have been sowing?

Sometimes, I beat myself up and think that maybe I could have done a better job at sowing but then the Holy Spirit reminded me that growing is not my job just sowing. It is the responsibility of the hearer to become a doer. There are four conditions of the hearer that determines what happens to the seed.

1. Hard hearted. These are people who come to church skeptical and hardened in their belief. They are already at odds with God and don't want to receive the word. As soon as the Word is preached it hits that hard heart and satan snatches it up. It's like they never even heard anything.

2. No Root. Others hear the word but since they don't have roots or connection in a local church they wither away. If a person doesn't get connected to a ministry or small group within 30 days of joining they wither away.

3. Worriers. People who are overly anxious with their finances and consumed with the desires for other things are choked out and their seeds can't grow.

4. Broken Heart and a contrite Spirit. These are people who are broken and come with a sense of expectancy. They come asking, is there a Word from The Lord? They have a teachable Spirit. They hear the Word, but most importantly, they do the Word. They become Disciples of Christ and then they go make Disciples. They take the Word of God and multiply what was sown in them 30, 60, 100 times!!

The next time you come to church to hear the Word of God search your heart to make sure you are ready to receive God's Word seed and then go do something with it.

Dear God,

Let the Words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Here We Grow Again!

Job 14:7 At least there is Hope for a tree; if it is cut down, it will sprout again.

The most dangerous thing that can happen is to lose Hope, to stop believing that your situation will ever change but you should never lose your ability to have Hope.

In the movie, Shawshank Redemption, an inmate named Red, played by Morgan Freeman, told his friend Andy to basically give up the hope of getting out of Prison. He told him, “Hope is a dangerous thing. It can drive a man insane, “but when Andy finally broke free he wrote a letter to Red and said, “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

There are times when it looks like something has died or is dying around us but if there is good in it and more importantly, God in it, it will not die but it will grow again.

Job spoke this as it related to his life. He was in danger of giving up Hope but he messed around and talked about a tree, he didn’t know it would be an example of his comeback. After Job lost everything, God gave him back double for his trouble.

There is Hope for a tree if it is cut down.

1. It will Sprout again. You need to know that whatever got cut down in your life, it has the ability to grow again. Every tree that bears fruit must be pruned so that it can bear more fruit. It’s time for you to sprout again.
2. The new shoots will not fail. The new shoots, opportunities that God gives you, will not fail you like the old stuff God had to cut off. Some people and some things had to be cut off so God could give you new.
3. The Roots may be old, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth shoots like a plant. God is about to send some rain on your situation. The scent of water is whatever you’ve been waiting on from God. I smell Rain!

I’m going to share a prayer with you that my friend, Rev. Gary Matthews sent me while I was writing this devotional:

In the Name of Jesus Christ, I invoke the Spirit of Goshen over every territory that God has allowed you to be over, even land that has not been developed but is in transition for you and your people’s possession. I pray that GROWTH be multiplied immeasurably, as God enlarges your territory. Get ready, it’s harvest time! You’ve been faithful my friend, the fruit of your labor are already increasing! The Levy has been broken and the flood gates of heaven are releasing the blessings over territory’s you and your people have claimed and reside in!

Amen

Let Your Work Speak for You

Acts 20:35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

One of the most important things we can give our young people is a good work ethic. As a child, I was taught very early to work for what you needed and wanted. From having household chores to working in the tobacco fields of Kentucky, I worked. That work ethic carried over into ministry. I always wanted to be a blessing and not a burden.

The way that we are a blessing is through our work. It’s important that every one of us contribute through the work of our hands. We must find something for our hands to do and contribute in a way that leaves the world better than the way we found it.

The Apostle Paul was getting ready to leave his friends in Ephesus. He reminded them of how hard he had worked amongst them. There are a few things that Paul teaches us about Work:

1. Hard work never hurt anybody. Work should be fulfilling. I think it was Paul when he said, “if a man doesn’t work a man doesn’t eat.”
2. Work must be fulfilling. Paul said that we must help the weak. When our work helps somebody it is no longer just a job but it is ministry. Our work should help us reach a point of self-actualization where we have not just met our own personal needs but helped somebody in the process.
3. Our Work should give back. Jesus said, “it is more blessed to give than receive.” When you find the work that you’ve been called to do, you know it because you would do it for free if you had to. When you work for God the compensation is knowing that you are fulfilling God’s will for your life.

Dear God,

Thank you for the work that you have called me to do. I hope that my work that I’ve done for you will speak for itself. I pray that my work has helped somebody to know you better and get closer to Jesus.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Here We Grow Again!

Job 14:7 
At least there is Hope for a tree; if it is cut down, it will sprout again.

The most dangerous thing that can happen is to lose Hope, to stop believing that your situation will ever change but you should never lose your ability to have Hope.

In the movie, Shawshank Redemption, an inmate named Red, played by Morgan Freeman, told his friend Andy to basically give up the hope of getting out of Prison. He told him, “Hope is a dangerous thing. It can drive a man insane" but when Andy finally broke free he wrote a letter to Red and said, “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

There are times when it looks like something has died or is dying around us but if there is good in it, and more importantly, God in it, it will not die but it will grow again.

Job spoke this as it related to his life. He was in danger of giving up Hope but he messed around and talked about a tree, he didn’t know it would be an example of his comeback. After Job lost everything, God gave him back double for his trouble.

There is Hope for a tree if it cut down.

1. It will Sprout again. You need to know that whatever got cut down in your life it has the ability to grow again. Every tree that bears fruit must be pruned so that it can bear more fruit. It’s time for you to sprout again.
2. The new shoots will not fail. The new shoots, opportunities that God gives you, will not fail you like the old stuff God had to cut off. Some people and some things had to be cut off so God could give you new.
3. The Roots may be old, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth shoots like a plant. God is about to send some rain on your situation. The scent of water is whatever you’ve been waiting on from God. I smell Rain!

I’m going to share a prayer with you that my friend, Rev. Gary Matthews sent me while I was writing this devotional:

In the Name of Jesus Christ I invoke the Spirit of Goshen over every territory that God has allowed you to be over, even land that has not been developed but is in transition for you and your people’s possession. I pray that GROWTH be multiplied immeasurably, as God enlarges your territory. Get ready, it’s harvest time! You’ve been faithful my friend, the fruit of your labor are already increasing! The Levy has been broken and the flood gates of heaven are releasing the blessings over territory’s you and your people have claimed and reside in!

Amen

Is It Your Hedge or Your Heart?

Job 1:10-11
Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.

Why do we worship God? Why do we come to church? Why do we follow Jesus? Many would say, “Because I love the Lord…” Do you love him because of what he’s done or for who he is? We have to stop and ask ourselves, do we love God because of who he is to us or because of what he does for us?

Jesus told the crowd that followed him after the miracle of feeding five thousand with two fish and five loaves of bread, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you and you got full off of the bread, not because you understood the miraculous signs.” (John 6:26)
Do we Love God and follow Jesus because of our heart or do we follow Jesus because we love the Hedge of protection that God has put around us?

On one occasion satan came in the presence of God because he had been searching the earth to see whom he could mess with. He is an accuser of the brethren. His only job is to discount man’s allegiance to God. He told God that the only reason Job worshipped him was because the Lord had put a hedge around him and his household. God has blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds had spread through the land. Satan told God to strike everything he had and Job would curse God to his face.

God removed the hedge to prove to satan that Job had a heart for God. Job lost everything he had, his 10 children were killed in a storm, he lost his house, his live stock were stolen or killed by natural disasters, his employees were murdered and Job shaved his head, tore his clothes to mourn. Job said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken way, blessed be the name of the Lord!

Job’s heart did not change when he lost his hedge. Some of us have lost our heart for God because we loved the hedge more than we loved God. How do we avoid falling away from God when or if we lose our hedge?

1. Find your Heart. Whatever we put our focus on that’s where we will find our hearts. Jesus told us not to put much stock on material things that could be stolen or lost. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21
2. Seek God first. Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33
3. Choose God over money. No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
4. Learn how to be content. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
5. Make sure Jesus is the center of your Joy. All the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. Philippians 3:8 MSG

Dear God,

I love you because you first loved me. Before I had anything I knew you loved me. With all of my heart I love you and I will serve you 'til I die. Thank you for your hedge of protection but most of all thank you for your love.

In Jesus Name,
Amen

They Can't Stop You!

Acts 5:39
If it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.

It’s amazing how other people can allow jealousy to fill them to the point that they want to see you fail. The more you attempt for God, the more susceptible you are to jealousy. The craziest thing is that the people who are the most jealous are actually the people who should be the happiest for you. After all, you are fighting for the same thing but then at some point they turn and start fighting against you.

We cannot waste time on people who want us to fail. We have to concentrate on doing what God called us to do. We must preach the full gospel of what Jesus has proclaimed in our lives. We have to stand in the temples, churches, and marketplace to proclaim the good news to the poor. We have to fulfill the mission and assignment that God has given us. We have to carry out the plans that God had for us while we were in our Mother’s womb. If God is for you, they can’t stop you!

The Sanhedrin Council was a group of religious leaders that were jealous of the Apostles because the people were leaving tradition and following these fired up Apostles who were preaching Jesus. The Bible says that they were filled with Jealousy. People were coming back to God and they were filled with jealousy. People were putting sick people in the street to be healed, hoping Peter’s shadow would fall on them but the religious leaders were filled with Jealousy. The community was being changed and transformed but they were filled with Jealousy. SMH!

The Religious Council tried to stop the Apostles by:

1. Arresting them and putting them in public jail. Sometimes, we experience “arrested development” because of jealous people who try to stop our momentum but God will send an angel to remind you, “Go stand and preach the full message!” They might arrest you but they can’t stop you!
2. They tried to intimidate them and make them shut up. V.28 they said, “Didn’t we tell you not to teach about this ‘Jesus?!’ “You are making us look bad!” Peter replied, “We must obey God rather than men.” When you know God is with you, you can no longer go the route of pleasing men but you have to obey God. They can’t stop you!
3. They tried to kill them! If God is with you nobody can stop you until his will is done in your life. If God is with you they will just be fighting against God and their arms are too short to box with God! They can’t stop you!

Dear God,

Help me to stay focused on what you’ve called me to do and not waste energy on my haters. Give me strength to finish what you started in me. I’m confident today, that they can’t stop me!

In Jesus Name,
Amen

I Can't Help It!

I Can’t Help It!

Acts 4:20
For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.

We live in a time where people don’t want to hear about God like they used to. If they had their way, some of the people in the world would issue you a gag order to shut you up. Here in Memphis, TN the city council is facing a possible lawsuit by an atheist organization for having prayer before the council meetings. On occasion, I have been invited to invoke God’s presence before the business of the City. The Freedom from Religion foundation threatened to sue the city council members if they continue to allow prayer at meetings. It seems to be in order that the city leaders would want God involved with the business of the city. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. Psalms 127:1

The Apostle Peter and John were thrown in jail after they healed a man that had been crippled for 40 years. They caused such a stir in the city that the city leaders and officials asked them to stop talking about Jesus. The Sanhedrin, a religious council, wanted the Apostles to shut up and stop talking about Jesus. Today, it’s the non-religious that want us to stop talking about Jesus but it was the religious in Peter’s day that wanted them to stop talking about Jesus. Peter responded to their demand by saying, “it’s better for them to obey God than men.” Peter said, “We can’t help but to talk about what we have seen and heard. We can’t help it!”

What is that you can’t help talking about?! If God has done anything for you, you can’t help it! If Jesus has healed your body, you can’t help it! If God has worked a miracle in your life, you can’t help it! This is why you can’t help it:

1. When you’ve had a life changing experience from the inside out you can’t help it. Whenever Jesus would heal people he would tell them not to say anything but they couldn’t help it. Jesus didn’t want them to be ashamed of what he had done, he just knew people. He knew his time was not yet fulfilled to be crucified and all haters want to do is kill you when you no longer follow the status quo. But now that Jesus has fulfilled his mission, you got to tell it!
2. When you’ve heard the word of God, you can’t help it! Jeremiah said, “When I said I would no longer speak of God, his word was like fire shut up in my bones.” You can’t hear the word of God and not want to say something. You can’t help it!
3. When other people are in danger of losing their souls. Peter said, “It’s better for us to obey God than man.” When people are in need of salvation, you can’t help it!

Dear God,

I will not shut up. You’ve been too good and I can’t help but to talk about what I’ve seen and heard. Use me today to tell somebody about the goodness of Jesus. Somebody needs to hear this. I can’t help it!

In Jesus Name,

Amen

It's Time to Get Back to Work!

It’s Time to Get Back to Work!

Nehemiah 4:15
When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work.

It’s amazing how the enemy will attempt to stop the progress in your life with a distraction. Whenever you get close to completing your assignment the enemy will crank up in your life in an effort to keep you from finishing. You cannot allow the enemies plots to knock you off your game, instead, you have to expose his plots and keep it moving. You’re halfway there and you can’t stop now, it’s time to get back to work and finish what you started.

Nehemiah was rebuilding the walls in Jerusalem. After the city had been decimated and devastated by the enemies of Israel, the surrounding Arab nations were coming in and taking what they wanted because the walls had been torn down. There are people in your life who for a season took advantage of you because you were in a vulnerable position. Your walls had been torn down, but when you began to rebuild your walls, the enemy tried to intimidate you from finishing what you started. The enemy threatened to kill them while they were working so some people got tired emotionally and physically. Some of them stopped working because they were too paranoid that someone was going to kill them while they were working.

Nehemiah in the middle of his building project had to stop and encourage the people to finish what they started. This is what he told them:

1. Remember the Lord your God who is great and awesome. V.14 Sometimes when we focus to much on the antics of the enemy, we forget the Power of our God. God is more powerful than anything that the enemy could do. Greater is he that is with us than those that are against us.
2. Remember your family and your homes, fight for them. V. 14 Every morning we have to remember who we are fighting for. The enemy can’t have our families. Giving up is not an option, my family is depending on me to finish! My son Jordan told me he looked up to me. I asked him why, he said, “Because you always know what to do in every situation.” Wow! I was humbled and honored that my son saw his dad as a leader fighting for the family.
3. Place Strategic people in exposed places. V13. Once you examine your life and you find vulnerable spots, make sure you put people in your life that can help you guard where you are vulnerable. In short, put people in your life that truly have your back.
4. Put a tool in one hand and a weapon in the other one. It’s not enough to be on the defense but you must also have an offensive strategy. You must be productive even as you are defending your territory.

When the enemy realized that their plot was foiled and exposed; when they realized that the Israelites couldn’t be punked, so they left. The Israelites returned back to work to finish what they started. So should you.

Dear God,

Help me to finish the work you gave me to do. Strengthen the work of my hands and block the plots of our enemies. Today, I am focused and determined to finish what you started in me.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

It's Time to Turn Back

Luke 22:32
But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.

The devil is trying to stop you. He doesn’t like you because he sees your potential in God to bless so many people. There is something you have been commissioned to do and the devil’s only job is to discourage you before it can happen.

Jesus warned Peter that satan wanted to sift him like wheat. He wanted to separate all of the disciples from Jesus. When trials and tribulations come they can either bring us closer to Jesus or drive us away. Hard times can bring out the best in us or expose the worst in us. When you are going through trials and tests, you must learn how to turn back to God after you’ve been sifted. If we were to tell the truth about it, we’ve all been sifted. Something has attempted to separate us from Jesus, but a separation doesn’t have to lead to a divorce. Nothing can separate us from the Love of Jesus!
Peter had every intention in staying with Jesus but the trial of Jesus being arrested temporarily separated him from Jesus; but Jesus’ prayer turned him back to his Savior. If you’ve found yourself separated from Jesus this is how you need to get back to Jesus:

1. Strengthen your faith. During these trying times our faith can be tested. There’s a lot that can pull on us emotionally, spiritually, and physically but we cannot allow it to deplete our faith. It’s times like this that we must use our faith and not lose our faith. We must starve our fear and feed our faith.
2. Turn Back. Once we realize how far we have drifted from Jesus we have to make up our minds to turn back to him. When Jesus came and found Peter back at his old fishing job after denying him three times, he reinstated Peter. He sent Peter back to being an Apostle. It’s time for you to get back to what God anointed you to do before you got discouraged.
3. Strengthen your brothers. There are other people that got discouraged during this season of turmoil. Once you get your faith strengthened, and you turn back, it’s important that you go to others that have lost their faith so you can get them back to God as well.

Dear God,

I’m turning back to my assignment. The devil tried to make me think that my ministry was over but the devil is a liar. The devil distracted me but I’m back on it now! Help me now with renewed faith to strengthen those who’ve been impacted by these trials. God there is more for us to do and I will not stop until it is finished. Today, I’m turning back to you!

In Jesus Name,
Amen

Where Are the People I Helped?

Luke 17:17
Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?”

One of the first things that was ingrained in me as a child was to say, “thank you” after somebody did something good for you. I was taught never to bite the hand that feeds you. It amazes me how today, when you help people, many times they don’t even come back to say “thank you”. Of course you don’t help people just so they are obligated to you for the rest of your life but when you do something good for somebody, bless their life, make them better, help them be healed it would be nice if they would just come back to acknowledge that what you did for them actually helped.

Over the last 11 years, over 13,000 people have walked across the stage at New Direction Christian Church to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. As a Pastor, sometimes it is discouraging to look out and see those faces missing. It makes Jesus’ question so painfully poignant, “Where are the other nine? Where are the people I helped?” Maybe you’re not a pastor but you can identify with the fact that you have helped a lot of people in your lifetime and when you look around you there are not very many of those people left in your life. It hits you every now and then where is that person I loaned that money to? Where is that relative that I kept their kids while they worked? Where is the person I let drive my car when they didn’t have one? Where are the people I helped?

On one occasion Jesus was met by ten lepers who asked him, “Lord have pity on us!” In other words, they asked, Can you help us? Can you do something? Can you give me some emergency assistance? Will you heal us? Can you give us some hope?

Jesus replied by saying, “Go show yourself to the priests.” This took some faith on their part because he was sending them back to the people who put them out because of their condition. Lepers could not go to the temple or stay in the proximity of people. Jesus sends them back sick but on their way back they were healed. Some people you blessed left you and did better after they were out of your view but never came back.
One Leper realized that he had been healed stopped in his tracks and begin praising God in a loud voice. He was a Samaritan. He wasn’t a Jewish believer but he starting worshipping God and came back to fall on his knees in front of Jesus to tell him “Thank you.” Jesus asked, “17 Jesus asked, “Were there not ten men who were healed? Where are the other nine? 18 Is this stranger from another country the only one who turned back to give thanks to God?”

I have nine theories for why some people don’t come back after being helped:

1. They didn’t realize Jesus had anything to do with it since it happened on the way back. Some people are blessed by your ministry but don’t realize Jesus did it through you until they get back to Temple.
2. They ran back to men but away from Jesus. The sad part about people being blessed or helped in church and not coming back is not that they leave the pastor but they walk away from Jesus. It’s disheartening when people leave a Jesus experience to run back to tradition.
3. They didn’t want a relationship they just wanted what they needed. It’s sad but true, some people just want your resources not a relationship.
4. They didn’t give credit to God for their miracle. Sometimes, when people get back on their feet they discount God’s involvement.
5. They thought Jesus was obligated to bless them. We expect Jesus to keep handing out blessings without coming back to love on him.
6. They took his Grace for granted. Grace is unmerited favor but the cost for it is our appreciation.
7. They were too busy trying to get back to what they left. Sometimes, the vortex of what we used to do sucks us back to old ways before we can acknowledge the new thing that Jesus has done for us.
8. They didn’t think worship was necessary. After God gives us what we need Sunday morning becomes an option instead of a lifestyle.
9. Life was too good to come back to worship. They were no longer outcasts; they were able to integrate back to normal life. Life was so good now they didn’t feel a need to come back to Jesus.

Dear God,

I can’t forget to thank you every day for all you’ve done for me. Don’t let me forget to come back to say thank you for all you’ve done for me. Every chance I get, I want to come to worship just to thank you for blessing me. Today, I will search out someone today, a pastor, a teacher, a parent, a relative, a friend that helped me when I needed help just to say thank you. Most of all I just want to say, Thank you Jesus!

Amen

What Did You Do with your Good Things?

Luke 16:25
"But Abraham replied, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good tings, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.”

God has blessed us with so much and it’s important that we use what he gives us to bless others not just ourselves. I saw that 60% of retired NBA players are broke and 78% of NFL players go broke after leaving the league according to ESPN’s 30/30. What happens to their Money?! They spend it on material things, houses, cars, jewelry; they indulge in drinking, drugs, gambling. When it’s all over, after making millions of dollars they have nothing to show for it and live in agony.

It’s not just the very rich that waste their “good things” but we too can look back on seasons in our lives when we wasted what God gave us instead of blessing others with what God gave us. We are blessed to be a blessing and to be wise stewards over that which God gives us. The bible says, “a righteous man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children.” And Jesus also reminds us to take care of the least of these.

Jesus told a story about a rich man that lived in a mansion with a poor man named Lazarus living right outside. Lazarus had sores all over his body and longed for the scraps from the rich man’s table but he didn’t give him any “good things.” The poor man died and the angels took him straight to heaven. The rich man died and was buried then went to hell where he burned in agony.

Even in hell the rich man had a sense of entitlement and asked Abraham to send Lazarus to give him some water. In hell, he still saw Lazarus as his servant, somebody less than him in status. In hell, your thirst intensifies but is never satisfied and you are unable to see your need for God because what you lusted for has replaced God.

Abraham said, “I can’t help you…you had your “good things” while Lazarus received his “bad things” and now he is being comforted here and you are in agony. Let me ask you a question: What did you do with your good things?

1. We should share our “good things” it’s more blessed to give than it is to receive.
2. Give a tenth to God. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be meat in my house…when there is meat in God’s house; he is able to give good things through his church to those who need them.
3. Don’t live in excess. Luke 12: 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
4. Give your best not what’s left over. Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back later; I’ll give it tomorrow”—when you now have it with you. NIV

Dear God,

Thank you for blessing me, now help me to look for the less fortunate instead of just thinking about myself. Help me to share my good things.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Are You a Hater or a Celebrator?

Luke 15:32
But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.

Sometimes, I wonder if we like seeing people fail more than we like seeing them succeed. What sells more papers and magazines, good news or bad news? What’s the top TV show, Scandal or Give Me My Life Back on OWN? Deep down I think we all appreciate a story of redemption or a good “come back” story unless their success comes at an expense to our ego.

It’s hard for us to celebrate certain people when we think we have been more faithful or in the “game’ longer than they have. Think of someone who was celebrated recently and you found it hard to be happy for them. What causes us to be “haters” when we should be “celebrators?”

In this familiar story of the prodigal son returning home, the older brother is a “hater” because his younger brother is being celebrated by the Father. At first, the sermonic spotlight is on the youngest son who realizes the errors of his ways and repents to his father, but really the spotlight should be on the older brother whose response to the return of his brother is shocking but it’s real. You can empathize with the older brother’s feelings when you look at the facts.

His younger brother dissed their father by asking for the inheritance early which was typically set aside for the oldest to get first after the daddy was deceased. The youngest dipped into his Daddy’s 401K and then blew it on partying. The younger son wasted his daddy’s money while the oldest stayed home to help the Father make money. The younger son comes home to get a party with barbecued calf, but the oldest son never got a party or even a young goat to barbecue with his friends.
Why would God expect us to celebrate somebody like that?

1. You are already blessed! The Father told the oldest son. “You are always with me and everything I have you have access to.” The oldest son represents those of us who are already saved and the youngest are those who haven’t been saved long but they decided to come back home. If God decides to bless them we don’t have to be jealous because I’ve been blessed the whole time.
2. He’s your brother. This person is not your enemy, they are connected to you in the Spirit. If they have come back to God or they are working for God, they are not your competition they are your brother. You have to be able to celebrate what God is doing in your brothers’ life even if they didn’t look out for your best interest at one time or the other.
3. He was dead now he’s alive. There are times in all of our lives where we were spiritually dead and they person that I was then doesn’t match the person I am now. We cannot hold resentment for who people used to be when God brings them back to life.
4. He was lost, now he’s found. When some people fall off and you keep going, it’s your God given responsibility that God bring them back. God says that he wishes that no one would perish but that all would be saved. That’s why he gives us time to get back to where we are supposed to be. When somebody gets back to their place in God that is a time to celebrate not hate.

Dear God,

Help me to celebrate those that have made their way back to you. Help me to celebrate my brothers and my sisters who are celebrated even when I am not. I have too much to be thankful for! I’m already blessed. If I never see my name in lights or in a magazine, I’m already blessed. I just thank you for letting me be in your house and I’m grateful that you helped my brother and my sister to get back on their feet again. I celebrate what you’ve done for me and for my brothers and sisters.

In Jesus Name,
Amen

Don't Lose Your Flavor!

Luke 14:34

Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?

There is something about you that stands out from everybody else. What’s amazing is that the very thing that makes us different is what we often try to cover up to conform to what everybody else approves of. Instead of standing out, we want to blend in.

There is a great article in this month’s issue of Essence magazine with women sharing what makes them distinctive. In the article, they share how they have learned to appreciate their beauty from their own perspective instead of others. One woman talks about how she used to fill in the gap in her teeth until the “fill in” became discolored and she decided to show her gap. She said, “I decided that it “sets me apart” from everybody else.

How much time have we wasted trying to fit in with everybody else? God created us to add flavor to the world. That’s why the Apostle Paul told us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12:2)

If we are going to make a difference in the world we have to be different. We must be Salt. There are three things that Salt does:

1. It preserves. Salt preserves what it is added to or put on. We should preserve the goodness in the World because we are ambassadors for Christ. We should bring out the good in people.
2. It Transforms. We should be change agents. Transformational Discipleship only occurs when people engage with Christ. Jesus told us to go and make disciples. People are transformed into Disciples when we introduce them to Christ.
3. It adds flavor. Salt makes bland food taste better. We should change the environment when we get involved.

Dear God,

Thank you for your Favor that gives me Flavor. You made me different for a reason. I celebrate my flavor and I will go out in the world to make a difference by being different.

In Jesus Name,

Amen